Grimm Fantasy: A RWBY Fanstory
by BalmungBlue
Summary: Once a rich village that flourished from a rare dust called Shade, Proverbs lost everything after its strange disappearance, along with the constant invasion of Grimm. A survivor of a fateful day reawakens as a cyborg created by a group of scientists supported by an armed intervention group called, Virgo. Will this reborn hero bring peace to this small mining town?
1. Chapter 0

Grimm fantasy: a rwby fan story By BalmungBlue Chapter 0: Welcome to Proverbs

There was a charm to this place, this small dust mining town of Proverbs. I was fond of its charm; a rustic village of townhouses and mining facilities that were populated by man and faunus alike. No one really cared that much about who they were, almost as if it was the dust that brought them together. I couldn't blame them, especially since the dust that once populated this place no longer exists. Many tried to figure out the cause of its sudden disappearance, with rumors and old wives tales being put in place of the mystery surrounding it.

"It was the curse of the Ispera People! They came to punish us for desecrating their beautiful land!" said one villager.

"No, you fool, the dust disappeared because they were unstable," said another villager. "Perhaps it was overstaying its welcome in this land. We should be blessed that we could profit from this rare dust when we could."

That rare dust, _Shade_ , was described as this dark bluish-purple that illuminated the mines with ethereal allure. What made it such a rare dust was its property: nullification. Add onto the fact of the abundance of energy that it came with compared to other dust in raw form, it was too good not to ignore as a power source. With that property, it attracted all kinds of attention, some of it good, some of it bad. Many sought _Shade_ to use it for science and engineering, others for weapons development and self-defense. But with access to such rare dust came a caveat. Perhaps it was the curse of the Ispera People because of the constant invasion of Grimm that plagued Proverbs.

The Grimm attacked Proverbs nearly every time the village mined out _Shade_ dust every month. Before, we had local Huntsmen and Huntresses that protected us when the Grimm attacked, but the moment the _Shade_ disappeared, they disappeared as well. It was on a scorching hot day that a large pack of Grimm invaded us and ransacked the village town. Many of the villagers were killed trying to defend the town, leaving women and children at the mercy of the voracious beasts.

In an attempt to protect Proverbs, I took anything I could to fight back against the Grimm hordes. I had little combat training along with the Huntsmen when they were in the village, and my semblance was useful in restoring anything that I touched, so I could always bring myself back into the fight. However, I, along with some other villagers were powerless against the many Grimm that invaded Proverbs.

"Gabriel, try to cut them off," said the village headmaster. "Me and Mar will try to evacuate the rest of the villagers from here!

"Gotcha!" I said. "I'll put my impromptu Huntsman skills to the test and hold them off."

"Don't die on me, kid. This place is your home after all.

The last thing I remembered was being tackled down to the ground by dog-like Grimm, being bitten and feeling nothing but searing pain radiate throughout my body. I fought some of them off of me, but their vicious attack continued as I started to see more of my flesh being torn with their razor-sharp teeth. As my consciousness was slowly fading, a group of soldiers stormed in the village. Fighting off the Grimm with all their might, there was one person that came to me, a catlike faunus wearing a lab coat. I reached out my hand, hoping that someone would grab it and hold me tight before I pass out.

That was the last time I could remember that day they attacked… and the day that I was still human.


	2. Chapter 1: Broken Beginnings

Chapter 1: Broken Beginnings

Vocal Log #14 | Date: March 15, XXXX, 2:15 PM

Today is the day. Today is the day that we finally see the fruits of our labor come to fruition. It's been roughly three years since we came to Proverbs. I and the rest of the crew were practically slaving away to ensure that Dr. Grysmalk's ambitions were made a reality. Though I'll admit, Proverbs got it real bad when the Grimm came along and wrecked the town. I'm surprised that its even got people still living there since that moment. I've been thinking… about the boy that we picked up. No normal human being should have been able to survive being maimed like that. Add onto the fact that the dog-type Grimm we designated as Hellhounds, have neurotoxic saliva in their fangs, the extra painful variety. Either this kid's aura is extremely powerful, or his will to live and survive are damn near supernatural. Well, I'm not gonna fret too much about it. Though I will ask him when he wakes up from his slumber. This is Dr. Yzoc Ban signing off."

Another log out of the way. More logs than I thought I would make than when we tagged along with Virgo. Grys was very adamant about having the protection of Virgo on our side, especially since what we do is technically illegal if we turned to Atlas or Beacon. Unlike androids, what we do may very well be considered black magic, playing God; turning humans into living machines. I'll be honest, I was unsure about reaching out for help, both physically and financially, but we were lacking options at the time. But now my conviction is steadfast, and I am ready for what the future, my future, _our_ future, holds for us.

Yzoc walks through the double doors of the research and development team of Virgo's base camp. He rubs his rugged face and yawns as he enters a room lit with nothing but the glow of computer monitors and a large coffin containing a teenage boy hooked up with wires and a rebreather tube. The coffin was filled with a gelatinous green liquid, and was outfitted with an overlay of various medical information including his heart rate, blood pressure levels, brainwave patterns and more.

"How's he holding up, Blair?" said Yzoc as he turns his sleepless eyes towards one of the young scientists near the coffin.

Blair turned to Yzoc with sharp, amber eyes that could kill if they were daggers.

"So far, his vitals are reading properly," she replied. "It's been stable thanks to the bio-gel that we've been using. So far me, Tanner, Obex, and Criss have been carefully documenting his records in case there were extreme incidents."

"Were there any?"

"Other than a few psych spikes in the brainwave patterns, he's been fine."

"Well, it seems like our nameless patient has been dreaming. Though I would assume if he's been having any nightmares, the anesthetic properties of the gel would remedy that, right?"

"Beats me…"

Yzoc lets out a long sigh.

"You are the lab techs here. You should know what everything does before we commit to these kinds of experiments. The last thing I want is Dr. Grysmalak to get on our asses for nearly killing this kid."

Everyone in the lab took a quick glance at Yzoc, only to hang their heads in guilt towards their keyboards and monitors.

"Tell ya what," said Yzoc. "I'll treat all of you guys to some coffee once are done here. And don't worry, I'm paying for it just so as long you don't make any ridiculously long orders. I know we're a skeleton crew, but we are all the best around here and should strive to be the best. Got it?"

"Yeah!"

The entire lab team cheered in unison.

"But what if we drink tea?" said the smirking Obex.

"… Shut up, Obi," said Yzoc with a sharp glare.

While all the fanfare was happening, the young boy's eyes were flickering open from his long slumber. Julia, one of the other lab techs took notice of the boy's awakening and started to hail Yzoc for his attention.

"It's time!" Julia shouted.

"I guess so," said Yzoc. "Can't believe that Grys is gonna miss this opportunity. Old codger probably overslept again…"

"Isn't he roughly the same age as you?"

"Yeah, but his personality makes him out to be an old man with a young body; _very_ mature."

"Ah."

Yzoc stood in front of the coffin, practically staring at the boy as he was waking up.

"Drain it," he commanded.

"Draining the coffin," said Blair.

The coffin was starting to drain the fluid that was preserving the boy in stasis. The klaxon of the alarm sounded throughout the R&D department of the base. In the midst of the draining process, a small group of people start filling into the lab, one of them being Tobel Grysmalak. Tobel hurriedly sprinted to the lab, dressed only with his shoes, pants, and his lab coat. He rushed through the double doors of the lab where everyone was crowding around the coffin. Yzoc, wryly smirking, turned to Tobel's exhausted expression. He knew that Tobel was up all-night finalizing the plans for his cyborg project. However, it didn't stop him from cracking a few jokes at Tobel.

"Well then, the man who would be late to his own child's birth finally arrives," said Yzoc.

"Oh can it, you wouldn't be there at all if you cared that much," said Tobel. "So, I take it that he's finally waking up after all these years?

"Yeah. It's about time that we see the culmination of our efforts coming to fruition. All while saving a life in the process."

"I know it will be tough for all of us, but for the sake of Trismagia, we cannot afford to lose anything. Not now, not ever. And if we can succeed in liberating Proverbs and other locations neighboring it, Virgo will officially add us to their R&D Department.

"You just wanna get close to Commander Starkheim, don't you?"

"…I-If that's how you want to put it…"

Tobel struggled to answer Yzoc's observation out of fear for admitting his intentions.

"You have only talked to her through audio communications since our partnership with Virgo," said Yzoc. "One of these days, you will have to see her face-to-face and not rely on me as the messenger of joy and good tidings. If you don't take that step, then someone else will."

"I know… but what if I screw it up with Illya?" said Tobel. "I dunno what I would do with myself if I do something wrong. I'm a faunus, so that's one mark on the 'scale of rejection,' I'm not as experienced with women like you, Yzi [pronounced similar to Izzie], and above all else, I only have smarts and conviction."

"You'll cross that bridge when you get there, Grys. No need to get worked up about what-ifs. And the reason why I have experience with women is because I got rejected and learned how to move on."

The coffin drained completely. The alarms murmured as it started to unlock and unhinge. It slowly opened, revealing the boy's polymerized body in stark nakedness. Though Obex had some concerns of his own, cutting into Yzoc and Tobel's conversation.

"I'd hate to break up your lover's hotline chat, guys, but what happens if he freaks out?" said Obex. "You think that being asleep for three years only to wake up with a robot body wouldn't make him mark out, but when he sees for himself…"

Yzoc, Tobel and the rest of the lab techs in the room stare at each other in bewilderment. It was at their realization that they would have to come up with a sound explanation as to how he got this way in the first place; a situation of luck and finesse that would truly test the Science Team: Trismagia. They suddenly looked at Obex, then at the drained coffin. They all responded with a collective thought:

"Oh shit..."

The boy opened his eyes, scanning his entire surroundings to notice a wealth of unfamiliar faces and setting. It was when his eyes trailed downward that evoked a quiet, yet tense reaction from the entire lab. He looked at his hands and noticed his body was connected with metal joints and various interconnecting parts. For a moment, he took in a deep breath until…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

His scream bellowed throughout the lab, letting the acoustics intensify his reaction fivefold.

"What… what the hell happened to me?" the boy said with tears streaming down his face. The entire lab went silent.


	3. Chapter 2: Noxious Feelings

Chapter 2: Noxious Feelings

My mind is racing a hundred miles a minute. It felt scrambled, jumbled up, frapped as I tried to process my situation. My head hurts. Body feels numb, almost as if it isn't my own. Come to think of it, is this pain that I really am feeling, or is there some sort of sensation that is mimicking it. I started to look around. Nothing seems familiar. Not the people, nor the place that I'm in. One of the strangers decided to approach me, albeit cautiously. He was a scruffy man wearing what seemed be business casual attire and wore a ponytail. His most notable features were his jet-black hair, slim figure, and seemingly expensive-looking sunglasses. It was at this point that "Scruffy" over here decided to introduce himself. He walked towards me, hands in his pockets staying cool

"Uh… hey there. M-my name is Yzoc Ban. Me, along with the rest of the people here are scientists/employees of our team, Trismagia. I know it must be quite difficult to explain, but let us agree to be civilized and not kill each other for a moment."

His gesture came off as standoffish, but he did show some concern for his peers judging how tensed up he got. Though I'll admit, being trained in reading body language and facial expressions at a young age, he has quite the poker face on him, one that is practically tough to crack for someone of his caliber. Wish I could say the same for the rest of him, dude was practically shaking in fear.

Feeling a bit composed, I nodded towards his gesture of civility despite the tension in the room being thick to the point of suffocation. I took quick glances around the lab again, some were looking at me as if I could destroy all of them in a matter of moments. Puzzled, I tried to figure out a few "elephants" in the room.

"What happened to me?" I said. "There are soo many questions running through my mind that it's making my head hurt. So if any of you can bring me up to speed on what the hell is going on and why my body is now nuts and bolts, that would greatly be appreciated."

Out of the frozen faces that were staring at me with bewilderment, the one that stepped to the plate was a tiger-like fanus wearing a lab coat on top of his disheveled shirt, wrinkled pants, and sandals.

"To make a long story short, I was the one that saved you from the brink of death when the Grimm attacked your village years ago" said the fanus. "I am Doctor Tobel Grysmalak, pioneer of the Human-Cyberization Initiative and lead scientist of Trismagia. I understand that you have a lot on your plate, but we can explain in better detail later. Right now, your newly built body is in need of test runs to ensure that you are capable of getting back at the Grimm."

His thunderous voice echoed throughout the entire lab, making me freeze out of intimidation. Not a single instance of wavering was heard in his voice. His gaze was as sharp as a sword. He meant business. Despite my shock however, it was the last bit he said that made me question him: "What do you mean… get back at the Grimm?"

"The purpose of my project is to create the first ever Grimm Subjugation Unit using a humanoid base to function," Tobel said. "However, the nature of this project is deemed taboo among various regions of Remnant, making your existence illegal in nature. That being said, we have no choice but to keep you out of the public eye out of fear of being pursued by other military powers like Atlas. Thankfully, our benefactors, Virgo, have sealed off Proverbs to use as their base of operations for the time being. This makes it easier for you to roam around your home and protect them however you can."

Tobel was aiming to wrap things up as neatly as he could, but I could tell that the way he explained it only brought even more questions to the forefront. He started looking at his watch, almost as if he was rushing to keep things moving on a tight schedule. I decided to introduce an ultimatum to him to get him to tell me everything.

"I see you are willing to get something going with me right away. Tell ya what, I will do whatever you want me to do to push your project forward, but only if you agree to tell me everything that I want to know. I do have a bone to pick with the Grimm, and you want some results, so we have something in common to a degree. And I would looove to have everyone here help me achieve these goals with me. Sounds good?"

In my head, I thought I sounded really slick like one of those movie characters that take no shit from anyone. Though everyone that was staring at me had looks on their faces that said otherwise. Yzoc smirked and turned his attention towards Tobel.

"Hey Toby, I thought it wasn't possible for someone to still have balls after the process. This kid right here thinks he has a say in the matter despite the position he's in. And on top of that, he saying all that with tears streaming down his face. Can you believe that?"

"Right now, his emotions are a driving force in operating his body. Though, this matter could be investigated properly. I must say that our friend Gabriel is showing us that he's stronger than he looks."

"And how did you find him again? I remember in your dossier that you-"

"Let's save that for another time. I'm sure he's waiting for us to hear our say on his ultimatum."

Tobel looked back at me. Something in my head clicked.

"My name? He knows my name?"

The haziness in my mind subsided only for a moment. I could remember… people that knew who I was… before all of this. It was then that Tobel and company looked at me with a level of conviction that told me their answer without having to say a word.

"It is my responsibility to see how you develop and see my project come to fruition. By proxy, you are a member of not only Trismagia, but also Virgo Para Military Corp. We shall accept your ultimatum and assist you however we can."

"And you will tell me everything?"

"Everything. Even if we have to take the red tape off of it all."

"Good."

"But I will only emphasize this once. Do not, for whatever reason, make yourself known to the general public. The moment you step into the world outside of Proverbs, you will put all of us in jeopardy. Is that understood, Gabriel?"

"Yes."

"Is that understood!?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Good."

Tobel was very adamant about not letting me go outside of Proverbs, but there were implied reasons that were easy to understand for the most part. I am not supposed to exist. If anyone knew that something like me was walking around armed to the teeth for the sole purpose of exterminating Grimm, everyone would be after me in a heartbeat and pick me apart. It's my end of the bargain to hold while they keep theirs. Tobel then began to speak to me and everyone else in the lab.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen, we will begin our diagnostic check for Gabriel here. We will get him situated with Trismagia and Virgo once everything is accounted for. This is the start of a new journey for all of us, and will bring its own share of trials and tribulations for all of us. Let us make an impact on this small village, for it will be a small step for us, but a great step for mankind's future! Here's to working for that future we've been striving so long for!"

Tobel was animated in his small speech to his skeleton crew. However, Yzoc himself couldn't restrain himself from laughing at the whole thing.

"Let's at least introduce Gabe here to the crew BEFORE signaling the death flags. It's poor timing to belt out a speech like that y'know?"

I figured in the corner of my mind one worrisome thought that played itself throughout the entire ordeal:

"Please, for the love of all things good… please tell me I'm not surrounded by idiots."

And so... my new journey, and my diagnostics, began.


	4. Chapter 3: Premonition

Chapter 3: Premonition

Vocal Log #15 | Date: March 29, XXXX, 9:15 AM

"Well, I know that was a lot of excitement for one day, but hot damn does it still give me the chills seeing him wake up like that. Gabriel definitely seems like an interesting individual, but it's clear that he's not playing with a full deck of cards. As for Toby… the stones on him to stand up to his own "creation" was a sight to see. Never saw him that gutsy since the old school days. Only difference is that he didn't get the shit kicked out of him and his lunch money taken… and thankfully it didn't escalate any worse than that for obvious reasons. Today, we will be running a series of diagnostic tests to kinda get Gabe situated and prepped for introduction to Virgo's crew. The next few days are gonna be serious for the kid. Has a whole training regimen waiting for him by the Virgo's combat specialists. He's definitely gonna be a fish out of water, but everyone here at Trismagia is confident that he'll pull through. As for me and Toby, we have high hopes that Gabriel can prove our concept is a viable one. We can't afford to lose him, or it's game over for everything that we worked for."

I was listless after making this entry. Adrenaline was still pumping in my body after that fated day. I couldn't even sleep right after the moment of anguish poured out from every fiber of Gabriel's being, something I can kinda empathize with. Kid's been through a lot of pain and suffering, only to lose his body and the life he had before the Grimm invaded his homeland. It is, however, an undeniable fact that there was no way we could have prevented an attack on any village by the Grimm. They have been more and more aggressive as of late, with their attacks including the local fauna and journeymen that have made their trips around the lands of Proverbs and neighboring villages. Julia did give me a detailed report on these strange activities, which yielded some interesting bits of information that I want to look into a bit further. The title of the report read: "Mysterious Crystal-like Formations Leads to Unusual Developments." Reading through it, the report mentioned a few key situations that caught my attention.

One, the Grimm have been more aggressive towards any neighboring species and humans all together. According to the report, the Grimm have been consuming these strange crystals, which has changed their physiology to an interesting degree. Their eyes and markings on their bodies turned into a purplish hue that illuminated even in broad daylight, which matches the eyewitness accounts by hikers and highwaymen that survived through the skin of their teeth. The Grimm have also been exhibiting more pack mentality behavior, often having "squads" attacking in various ways that resembles an organized military operation, but that quality was present in the less feral types of Grimm.

Two, the crystal formations appeared "out of the blue" as Julia noted. She took a few soil samples to determine the age of their appearance, but the results came back inconclusive. However, the appearance of these strange formations, as well as the texture and qualities of the sample she extracted from the formation came back positive as a form of Dust. But here's the kicker. Using the Schnee Dust Library Server, nothing matched what we found in their database, leaving us wondering what this thing was. Julia later gave a name for the dust that she found on the field: "Shade." Shade was for the dark purple glow that it had when simply getting close to it. It had roughly the same density as ice dust, but with an unnatural volatility like nothing we've ever seen before. In trying to break and cleave it, the tools we used had no effect. Almost as if whatever method of force we applied to it was being completely nullified. We still have a lot to learn about this new form of Dust, especially with how frequently it is forming in and around Proverbs.

Three, through interviewing with some of the locals nearby the mining quarry in Pallsach, a village distantly neighboring Proverbs by several miles, there was a constant that was brought up during each interview Julia conducted: Ispera. There's a little village myth that goes around about a mysterious civilization predating the early beings of Remnant making a comeback that would spell the end of the current civilization because of a grave sin that was committed. Now, no one knew exactly what that great sin was in the myth, as even the elders that orally recounted the stories relating to this myth treated it as a major point of contention, as if a major taboo was finally acknowledged and saying any more would guarantee their destruction. One thing about this "myth" that doesn't seem to be pure fiction is a recent discovery of a structure that lies within vicinity of the quarry. A few villagers went to the quarry to go about their duties, when they found pieces of a dilapidated structure on the outskirts of the quarry with very intricate details. Fortunately, Julia was on the scene with her camera to take a picture of the structure. Virgo, having received the picture, had it cross-referenced through their network of sources to pinpoint the timeframe of the structure. What came up was quite the shocker according to her, and to me: The structure was over 3000 years old, with barely any cracks other than the ones that caused it to fall. I guess by no means is Ispera a myth, but if their return seems to be a possibility, we have to be ready for the worst.

"Sheesh, I gotta hand it to Julia to make a report like this," I thought to myself. "Considering the tight connection she has with members of Virgo, it makes our life and job a tad bit easier. Still though, all of this kinda reeks of a premonition. I'll have to reconvene with Commander Starkheim and Intel Officer Moon so we can talk about this in further detail." I looked down at my watch and noticed that it was almost time for Gabriel's diagnostic check. We have to have him combat ready soon before the main testing phase can begin. I still have high hopes we can make something out of the situation we are currently in, but there's a sharp pain in my gut telling me that we are about to meet our biggest challenge yet. And whatever it may be, it'll be a do or die situation. I proceeded to the Research and Development lab to meet with Gabriel and the rest of the crew. Toby seemed pretty happy this time around. Guess he's in a good mood about today. I wish I can share that bit of optimism as he does. However, we gotta meet that optimism with caution. There's no telling how the test run will go. Maybe Gabriel might explode in more ways than one… but Toby's been working on this project ever since he committed to his senior thesis of organic-to-synthetic conversion back in college. The other way is if Gabriel overexerts himself to the point of self-destruction, which we would like to avoid since our measuring devices have been calibrated for such an occasion.

"Let's begin the testing phase," said Toby. "We are going at this at through baby steps. Everything here today will be closely monitored to optimize potential rooms of improvement. Today, we have members of Virgo down here watching us prove our worth."

I didn't notice there were two extra people in the room with us. One of them was wearing an extravagantly tacky lab coat with colors that don't even attempt to match his casual look. He had goggles that shielded his eyes from my perspective, but his wry smile was ever-present. And the other person was someone who simply commanded her attention just by being there. Her outfit was definitely military in nature, complete with a justacorp with a base of white and bronze trimmings, decorated with an emblem that had a woman caressing a band of fabric draped across her body as the motif on the right side of her chest. Her face was scarred diagonally in between the bridge of her nose and her eyes, but her beauty radiated underneath her cap.

"I am Commander Yurelia Starkheim, leader of the Armed Intervention Group, Virgo," the military girl opened. The numerous pairs of eyes caused her to flinch like a child in stage fright. "I-I'm expecting great things from this experiment of yours. As the success of your new project may be spearheading our operations to a new direction, w-we will provide a-ample support to the best of our ability."

"Thank you for the opening, Commander. You were kinda graceful up until you hit the 'all eyes on you wall', said the man in the tacky lab coat.

"K-kinda?" interjected Yurelia.

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the man as he tilted his glasses upward with a wry smile on his face. "I am the eccentric, mad genius of the Research and Development branch of Virgo, D. Doctor D."

A long pause of silence filled the lab. Many faces in the room were painted with looks of confusion and glances amongst the crowd.

"Now, now, you can hold your suspension of disbelief once the testing is over," said D. "I do have a lot of projects to work on involving this kid you have here, so let's not dawdle around. Time is of the essence, and there is a lot of fun to be had that we're wasting away, so hop to it!"

No doubt about it, I and the crew were being initiated through this testing phase. As I turned to the rest of the crew in the lab, my gut feeling told me that our hopes not only lie on Gabriel, but our future is riding on the line at this very moment. And so, we packed whatever computers, recording devices, and calibration modules, and headed out to a razed part of the forest where Grimm were sighted in great numbers. I looked behind me to see how Gabriel was doing, but one look at his face told me a different story: "We got this!" Here's hoping that we truly got this in the bag.


End file.
